Frequently asked questions about tiny homes from Tampa Bay Tiny Homes.
What are the challenges to tiny house living?
Financing, Construction and Placement of Tiny Houses on Wheels – The Tiny Triangle
The Three Most Common Challenges To Tiny Home Living
When starting your lifestyle change towards tiny house living you will likely encounter these three hurdles as your first challenges to achieving your dreams. Below you will find the slides from the presentation at the Circle Pond Tiny Home Community Tiny Home Show which was November 11th, 2017. This is a high level overview with many more details shared in the actual presentation but hopefully it adds some value. Let us know if you have specific questions!
Can my tiny vacation home pay for itself?
Consider A Tiny House As An Investment Property
Can Your Tiny Vacation Home Pay For Itself?
Many people cannot see themselves permanently living in a tiny house on wheels or foundation. They may not feel their family can fit in a tiny home or just don’t feel comfortable in a minimal footprint as a permanent home. Many of those same people often take vacations and stay in a 200-300 sq ft hotel room for days or weeks with no issue. With that thought in mind we have found that a tiny house may be the perfect investment property for many individuals, couples and families.
Tiny homes make an excellent investment property
Not only is a tiny home a micro investment compared to a condo, second home or even time share, but it is also a highly desirable rental property. Anyone who has been on Air B&B lately has surely seen the growth in available tiny homes for rent and many of these tiny houses are booked for months in advance. For the tiny house owner renting their property this means very little work to secure a consistent stream of short term renters. In addition there are services like Teal Door Hosting that will take care of the entire rental experience for you from listing to hosting and cleaning for around 20% of the daily rental rate.
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Imagine investing less than half the money you would pay for a getaway condo or cabin into a highly desirable asset like a tiny house and allowing your rental property to pay for itself. At the least you will have a getaway that is cost neutral and the ability to control when you want to use or rent your getaway. Better yet your getaway could become a revenue stream that not only pays for itself but puts money back in your pocket. Now imagine having a second tiny home in a different location and you have two getaways in two different environments that both pay for themselves or make a profit. Sounds too good to be true? Well it is happening all over the U.S. as we speak and Florida is a prime location for this type of property with all of our beaches and warm winters!
With a tiny house on wheels you can even move your rental property around to the most desirable locations based on seasons, highly desired locations or events! Contact us today to find out more about how this type of investment property can work for you!
How popular are tiny homes in Florida?
Big demand for tiny homes in Tampa Bay area – News Channel 8
Big Demand For Homes, Bigger Demand For Communities
As this great story by WFLA News Channel 8 points out, the desire to move away from a large living footprint to a smaller more manageable footprint is gaining steam in an already established market. What we see on HGTV is meant to be entertainment and might not exactly be “reality” TV for everyone, but where there is smoke there is fire and we believe one reason for the popularity of this trend is the underlying desire to do more with your life than live to work.
There are three major hurdles to tiny living; finding a qualified builder, financing and where to put your home.
We call this the Tiny Triangle. You can rest assured that you have solved one of these three major challenges by finding Tampa Bay Tiny Homes. We build tiny houses on wheels on foundation and are certified by the National Organization of Alternative Housing.
Tiny houses on foundation can be built as an accessory dwelling unit on a property that already has a primary residence in many areas of Florida. Building a tiny house as a primary residence depends on local building codes and zoning which often prevent a true tiny home from being built due to minimum size restrictions.
Tiny houses on wheels (THOW) also face challenges with where they can be parked or placed permanently. This challenge primarily is driven by tiny houses not having their own category in the many standards, laws, rules, etc and thus being pushed into the closest category of RV or Mobile Home. The solution to this problem is complex yet simple, we need to create a category in the many standards, laws, rules, etc specifically to address tiny houses on wheels and on foundation.
Here are some details from the fantastic story by WFLA News Channel 8
“Some tiny homes are finding a place in RV parks, others on private property. But currently, there aren’t many convenient neighborhoods to call home. Debbie Caneen wants to change that.
The Sun City woman and director of admissions at Sun Towers at Sun City Center, purchased a 210-square-foot tiny home created by University of South Florida architecture graduate Stephanie Henschen. The tiny home was featured on HGTV and resulted in Henschen landing a job on the West Coast. Caneen now uses it to drum up interest in tiny living.
Earlier this year, Caneen purchased an old trailer park in Ruskin, near the Hillsborough County Community college and Amazon fulfillment center and is developing the 4.5-acre property into what she’s calling Circle Pond Tiny Community. Her vision is a neighborhood with space for 24 tiny homes, with amenities including utilities and WiFi service included.
“I’d like to keep the rent around $400 a month,” says Caneen, adding that she hopes to use the neighborhood to not only welcome tiny homes, but also to encourage others to build similar communities.”
Keep tabs on the progress of
Circle Pond Tiny Home Community
in Ruskin, FL as it works towards launch in early 2018!
How can I save money on my tiny home build?
How Can You Save Money On Your Tiny Home Build?
Save Money Building Your Tiny Home
One of the primary motivators for many potential tiny house owners is a minimal financial footprint. By owing less and having small monthly payments the tiny house owner may be achieving the dream of home-ownership where it wouldn’t otherwise be possible, or maybe engineering their lifestyle to allow them to dedicate their finances to more gratifying endeavors like travel, relaxation, volunteering or just making a career change. Regardless of the reason all of these potential tiny home owners are seeking a home they can be proud of and comfortable in while spending as little money as possible.
There are many ways to save money when building or buying a tiny home but ensuring your choices are smart buys versus cutting corners is important. Consider utilizing materials that are donated or available at low cost such as using palate wood for a non structural wall covering. Consider what you really “need” regarding big ticket items like appliances, windows and doors and what actually gets you living your tiny lifestyle. Perhaps plain windows vs more ornate models can save you enough money to pay for that small refrigerator for example. Overall doing your research and planning your build is the best way to optimize the money you invest.
Tampa Bay tiny homes can help you to achieve this minimal financial footprint in several different ways depending on your goals.
That may mean buying a shell built to proper building codes that you can finish yourself saving money on labor and potentially materials if you can salvage, reclaim or have materials donated. Another option may be getting a complete model with no frills using the most inexpensive materials you can that still insure your safety. You may also benefit from using our consulting services or attending one of our build workshops and doing much of the labor yourself with our oversight.
Buying a shell built by Tampa Bay Tiny Homes means that your new tiny house has a core built to NOAH standards ensuring that the house is safe and decreasing potential obstacles to financing and insuring your home. Once you have the shell you can make your own choices about how much you want to spend on windows, doors, siding, roofing, interior flooring, walls, appliances, etc. Of course this will mean that you will need to do the work yourself or have someone willing to do the work for free and quality may vary. Take your time to find the best deals or ask around and see if any friends or family may have items to donate to your tiny cause!
When it comes to building a complete model at the lowest possible price we do everything we can to meet your goals while staying within your budget. That said it is incredibly important to us that the materials used to build your tiny home are safe and will provide you the long-lasting quality you should expect when purchasing a home. We will discuss what is a necessity, a nice to have and what you can do with out and put together a plan including as much of your needs and nice to haves as possible considering your budget. By choosing your own finishing touches you can save money up front, get into your tiny house sooner and learn more about tiny living before deciding on purchases like appliances.
Some potential tiny home owners are looking for more of a DIY experience and utilize our tiny house consulting services. Perhaps you would like us to procure and store all the proper materials as your complete your build onsite. Or maybe you fall somewhere in the middle and would benefit most from buying the shell built to the proper standards, choosing the materials that best suit your budget and then attending one of our workshops to complete construction. By saving money that would be allocated to labor you not only improve your financial footprint in the tiny house but you also build your construction skills which can really come in handy as a tiny home owner!
Just like every tiny home, each potential tiny home owner’s goals and skills are unique. Contact us today to talk more about achieving your goals within your budget and all the different options for achieving your tiny home lifestyle!
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